Two Can Play at That Game
by KHwhitelion
Summary: Kabuto knew it was a trap, but he rescued her anyway. He loved Shizune, and Sound Country is a dangerous place. But the Hyuuga knew Sakura had LET him get away. Orochimaru's only daughter would come for him herself. Because she still wants revenge...


**NOTE: ALTERNATE UNIVERSE AHEAD!**

**Now that that's out of the way….**

**If you are new to me and Anaxn's Naruto world where Sakura is Orochimaru's daughter and Kabuto is a Hyuuga, I suggest you browse the community "Of Lies, Love and Lost" before reading this one-shot. Otherwise, it won't make much sense.**

**Actually, it's best if you read this one-shot AFTER reading Anaxn's one-shot, "Double Deception" because, though this is an AU, this story follows shortly after that. **

**You're welcome to read this one-shot anyway, but I don't want any complaints at how you don't understand why Sakura did this and Kabuto did that—you guys want back story—GO READ OUR OTHER FANFICS!**

**Now….to those of you who HAVE read our fanfics and DO know our theories: I hope you enjoy this crazy AU one-shot. I took this scene almost directly out of a dream….but thought it would make a cool story, so here it is!**

**Oh….I don't own the following quote. Just to let you know.**

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_"All the old knives That have rusted in my back, I drive in yours."_  
-Phaedrus (Thrace of Macedonia) (Fables-Appendix (VI, 11))

"Stay here." Kabuto stated, leaning forward slightly to allow the chocolate-haired woman to slide off his back. A bit reluctantly, Shizune did so, the absence of his body against her own causing her to shiver in the cool night air. It had been a long time since she'd felt it, and had the situation been different, she would have been relieved. However….at the moment, there were far more important issues at hand.  
"Kabuto…." She asked, her voice hoarse from deprivation of fluid. "What….what about you?"  
The silver-haired man remained silent for a moment, taking in her appearance with a pang of pity in his heart. She had changed drastically during her time in Sound Country: her curved, muscled figure having shrunken to one of bony frailty. Even her eyes….those beautiful onyx orbs that used to flicker with self-assertion and pride….now screamed with fear and the half-lunacy that often accompanies starvation. She looked not unlike an orphan child caught stealing bread for their supper: wide-eyed and shaking. His heart ached both from remorse and shame for the young woman, but he remained professional, keeping a straight face.  
"Don't worry about me." He said, gently reaching out to stroke her arm. She flinched, but didn't pull away—a sign of trust despite what she'd been through.  
Good.  
"I'll be fine." Kabuto continued, locking his pale, lavender irises with her midnight black ones. Once upon a time, his eyes had worn a similar color, reflecting not only the lie in which he lived, but his very surname: _Yakushi_. Now, however, those days were gone: Kabuto Yakushi was no more—if he even had been at all. Only Kabuto Hyuuga—the name with which he identified himself but could never call his own for so long—remained. The name he'd been born with.  
The name he'd _die_ with.  
"Kabuto?" Shizune questioned, no doubt in response to his lack of explanation. He blinked, her voice pulling him from his thoughts. Again, he refocused his gaze on her, a small, reassuring smile spreading across his face.  
"Trust me, Shizune," he said, knowing full well that she was, despite everything she'd been through, the one person on earth who _did_ trust him, "I'll be alright." Caressing her arm once again, Kabuto took hold of her wrist with his other hand, guiding her to her front door with care. Leaving her alone wasn't the best idea….but spending the night was even worse. Sound Country's heiress would come looking for him—of that, he was certain. And if she found him _here_, with her prisoner….Kabuto knew she wouldn't hesitate to do away with them _both_.  
After everything he'd just been through, endangering Shizune was not a risk Kabuto was willing to take.  
"No matter what happens," he whispered, reaching past her to open the door, "you must promise me not to leave your home."  
Again, their eyes met, and again, pity for the young, tortured woman washed over the silver-haired man. The smile adorning his lips melted away, replaced by a soft yet stern line. "_Promise_ me." He reiterated, gently squeezing her hand, "That you will remain here."  
Shizune opened her mouth, a sound somewhere between a squeak and a whimper floating out of it, anxiety etched into her face. _Why?_ She asked silently, curling her fingers around his hand, _why must I promise? Why can't you stay here?_  
"Because," he replied, releasing his hold on her hand "I can't bear to see you in danger. Not again." On those words, Kabuto Hyuuga took a step back, studying the chocolate-haired woman intently. He wanted to remember her exactly as she was—wanted to absorb every protruding line on her face….memorize every flicker of fear that flashed in her dark pupils. Not because he enjoyed seeing her so weak, so frightened….but because her current image would forever remind him of the lengths Sound Country's current ruler would go to torment him. Shizune may not have realized it, but her imprisonment had nothing to do with her connections to the Fifth Hokage. After all….Sound's leader herself had once been an apprentice of Lady Fifth….merely a few years ago.  
Whether Shizune knew this or not, Kabuto didn't bother to ask, nor, at the present moment, did he find it of vital importance. As long as she listened to his plea, and remained in doors and out of the way, she would be safe. That was all that mattered in the end.  
Lingering on her doorstep for another moment or two, Kabuto nodded at her, his lavender pupils shining with an emotion the dark-haired girl couldn't decipher. Then, just like that, he was gone—disappearing in the shadows of the night, leaving Shizune to wonder just when and if she'd see him again….

….If he were younger, Kabuto held no doubt he would have up and bolted from Konoha upon Shizune's rescue; easier to elude the enemy that way. But Kabuto had been a very different man in his youth. He'd had no immediate ties to Konoha….none whom knew of his existence, anyway.  
For years, he remained loyal only to Sound Country.  
Kabuto had grown since then. With Orochimaru's death, a newfound freedom graced the lavender-eyed shinobi: an invisible permission slip granting him passage to the land of fire—not as a traitor, but as a rightful citizen of Konoha. For the first time since Kikyo pass, Kabuto shed both his Yakushi name and the genjutsu that had masqueraded his birthright, his lavender, Hyuuga eyes, in an obsidian haze.  
Kabuto Hyuuga lived once more.  
As these and several other thoughts passed through his mind, the glasses-wearing man spotted the darkened outline of the Hyuuga complex a few feet away. With a sigh of relief, Kabuto hastened his pace towards the building, eager to feel the security of its looming walls, short-lived though it would be. For, as he scaled a nearby tree, in turn leaping nimbly over the complex's stone walls, a warring voice in the back of his head advised him against dropping his guard.  
He'd not only betrayed Sound's leader, but revealed her true identity to the Hokage herself….and with this new, daring rescue mission he'd performed….well….Kabuto had more than earned his right to be nervous.  
_Calm down_, he self-demanded, darting down the corridor which led to his room—a guest room, really, as the room of his childhood had been demolished upon his supposed 'death' following Kikyo Pass—_you have to keep control_, here. Foolish words, perhaps, from someone in his position, but Kabuto knew Sound Country. Knew how it operated. Knew how _she_ operated. Likewise, he knew that if he panicked, she'd have the upper hand. Steeling himself was his best defense; it might enrage her, sure, but her rage was her weakness—it rattled her focus, which she needed not only for planning, but for the complex jutsu she'd no doubt acquired during the last two years.  
Swallowing thickly, Kabuto spotted a shadowed, rectangular object from the corner of his eye. Slowing his pace, he backtracked several steps, coming to a stop right outside a long, rather wide door—its shaded form sticking out like a sore thumb against the ashen, moonlit wall surrounding it. Eyes darting back and forth, Kabuto pushed it open and slipped inside, careful not to make a sound. After fiddling with the lock to ensure security, Kabuto released an exhausted breath and slid to the floor in a slumped sitting position. He kept the lights off; harder to detect him that way. It also bought him some much-needed time to rest.  
Though his muscles ached from overuse, he'd suffered no real injuries during his rescue mission, which was fortunate in of itself. How he managed to do that after his heart-wrenching betrayal to Sound's ruler, he didn't know. She'd been furious….broken….that night; so crippled by emotion she hadn't bothered chasing after him.  
But she hadn't forgotten; why else would she have taken Shizune—of all Konoha kunoichi—prisoner? Not because she'd worked for Tsunade—Sound's heiress had no interest in her former mentor—but because Kabuto _loved_ her. Because he cherished her approval, her happiness and well-being more than anyone else's. Shizune was everything to him….and the daughter of Sound Country _knew_ that. How she knew, Kabuto had yet to figure out, though he guessed the phrase "two can play at that game" had something to do with it. A spy for a spy, so to speak. If that girl was her father's daughter, she'd have sent several Oto nin to monitor the Hyuuga man inconspicuously, and report back any useful information.  
A love interest, for example….  
Suddenly, he froze, the soft inhale-exhale of breath invading his ears. Breath that was not his own. His head shot up; activating his Byakugan, in a wild attempt to locate the source of the noise.  
_Stay calm!_ He told himself again, silently begging his heart to cease its hammering, _you've got to stay—_  
"Kabuto…."  
…._calm_….  
"….Kabuto….can you hear me?"  
An icy chill shot down the Hyuuga's spine, and using his kekkei genkai, he desperately searched the dark for his mysterious speaker.  
"Don't bother with _that_. You won't be able to locate me."  
For reasons unbeknownst to him, Kabuto shut off his Byakugan. Something about that voice….  
"What, don't remember me? I should've known. You forgot your place. _Of course_ you'd forget your former….associates."  
With widened eyes, Kabuto realized why his addressor sounded so familiar. "O…." he stammered, staring into the darkness, "….Orochimaru….?" It couldn't be….Orochimaru was dead. He'd done the autopsy himself. But….but that voice….so dark….so twisted….so slippery….reminding Kabuto of a snake's hissing. Who _else_ spoke in such a way….?  
Around this time, Kabuto's thoughts took on a very different pattern: _it's not possible_, they screamed, rivaling the pounding of his heart in his ears, _he's_ dead. _Dead. There's no way he could be here now!_  
It's said fear does irrational things to people, which was precisely what Kabuto felt at the moment. When it….or he….spoke again, the silver-haired Hyuuga realized his error.  
But it did nothing to ease his nerves.  
"Don't play games with me _nii-san_." The voice spat, words laced with frothy venom, "were my father still alive, we wouldn't be in this situation right now."  
The phrase came to a close, and with it, Kabuto's eyes widened .  
…._'my father'_….  
…._'nii-san'_….  
His heart stopped.  
…._oh no_….  
"S….Sakura?" He asked weakly, disbelief evident in his shaky voice.  
From somewhere in the darkness, a low growl erupted. "Present." She spat darkly, in a tone so cold it made his skin crawl. That wasn't Sakura. That _couldn't_ be Sakura.  
"You've….you've changed." He managed, glancing cautiously into the shadows as he slowly rose to his feet. "You sound…." He felt the urge to wince, but repressed it, "….you sound like your father."  
There were no footsteps, no indication of movement, but somehow, when she spoke again, her voice seemed closer than before. "Good to know." A pause. "You haven't changed at all since that day. Except…." She paused again, and the following words seemed to echo around the room "….this time, _I_ have the upper hand."  
Upon hearing that bone-chilling response Kabuto realized right then and there that he was, in fact, _terrified_. A word he never thought he'd have to use when describing his foster sister. Apprehensive? Sure. Uneasy? Most definitely. But terrified? Not for a second.  
Yet here he was, faced with an opponent not even his Byakugan could detect. An opponent whose trust he'd broken nearly two years before, by a staged assassination attempt.  
An opponent whose identity he'd exploited to the hidden leaf village.  
An opponent who wanted _revenge_.  
This, more than anything else, scared him, because during the past year...she'd been left alone in Otogakure without his supervision. He had no idea how much of her father's jutsu she'd learned in that time. Only that she was powerful. Evil. _Deadly_.  
She wasn't his little sister anymore.  
"Don't pretend to be surprised." Sakura went on, "You knew I'd come after you."  
"Maybe I did." He replied, his hand inching for the door handle "But I hadn't expected such a direct approach." Normally, Kabuto hated the 'bail' idea; after so many years of backing down, running away….the very mention of it churned his stomach. This, however was _not_ a normal situation. And Sakura was _not_ a normal girl. If he stayed, tried to face her alone….things were going to get real ugly, real fast.  
"You don't know me as well as you once did." Sakura barked, sending another chill down Kabuto's spine.  
His hand found the handle. There was still a chance.  
Replying with a simple "I guess not" Kabuto pressed down on the knob, waiting for the reassuring **click** that would signify his exit….but an unaccounted for jam quickly denounced that idea.  
The door….  
….he'd forgotten he'd locked the door….  
In that moment reason clashed with instinct; half his mind yelling at him to turn around and unlock the damn thing, while the other half screamed shouting out the suicidal results of such an action.  
In the end, Sakura decided _for_ him.  
"I don't _think_ so."  
Without warning, an agonizing pain burst in his chest, with such a he collapsed to his knees, clutching at the area in a vain attempt to make the hurt subside. "What…." Kabuto choked, staring with newly-blurred vision at his surroundings "….what have you….d-done, Sakura?"  
A deafening silence served as his answer; the only sound his strangled gasps for air echoing off the walls. This was bad—far worse than he'd anticipated their encounter to be. Not because she'd caused the sudden pain….but _how_ she'd managed to inflict on him such anguish without so much as a touch. In all his years working for Sound, Kabuto couldn't recall the girl's father ever using such a jutsu….  
So _where_ did Sakura acquire it?  
_Unless_….he thought, doubling over as an abrupt coughing fit overtook him…._unless there's more to Orochimaru even_ I _wasn't aware of_….  
He continued to cough, each one sawing at his lungs, rubbing against his throat until the insides felt overused and raw. Blood spattered from his mouth—staining the ground around his knees, glistening despite the darkness.  
The blood didn't alarm him.  
But the source of it _did_.  
The same source that sparked his coughing fit: a pressured squirming in his chest, as if his very ribcage were being squeezed from the _inside_. As time ticked by, said pressure began to shift towards his trachea….trying to snake its way through his lungs and up his _throat_ so that he could barely breath.  
Let alone speak anymore.  
This, it seemed, what Sakura was waiting for. "Uncomfortable….isn't it." She drawled, still shielded from view.  
He tried to respond, but gagged violently in the process.  
"Don't." Her voice came again, so close he could've sworn she was standing right in front of him. "You'll only speed up the process."  
_Process? _He asked inwardly, fear contorting into panicked alarm, _what process?_  
Perhaps she'd read his facial expression.  
Perhaps she just wanted to torment him further.  
Whatever the reason, Orochimaru's daughter finally decided to reveal herself to the silver-haired man, materializing before his eyes like a phantom. Even with hazy vision, the sight of Sakura no Oto after almost two years twisted his stomach in a painful knot. She no longer hid her true appearance with genjutsu—she'd given that up the moment of her father's death. Now….now she was the spitting image of her father-though she preferred a brown dress resembling the style of the one she'd worn in her Konoha days, rather than wear his robes. A rich purple snake had been embroidered into her garb in homage to Manda, winding around her slender figure in an ominous fashion. Still….what shocked Kabuto most was the physical change in her appearance. Her midnight black hair had grown since he'd last seen her; thick, dark layers whose longest strands just brushed her shoulders. Her pale skin—almost white in color—now had a toned look about it, years of training no doubt turning some of that left over baby fat into solid muscle. But her true power radiated from her golden, snake-like eyes. Framed in purple rims, her eyes blazed with such hate….such ferocity….he knew that, no matter what happened tonight, he wouldn't be leaving this room alive.  
Lips pursed in a tight line, Sakura of Sound stepped forward, folding her arms over her chest. He noticed, then, the summoning mark snaked around her forearm—Orochimaru had emblazoned it on her in her childhood. He noticed, also, the blood smeared across it.  
Suddenly….everything clicked, his features contorting into a look of pure horror. "You…." He mouthed, before lurching forward, hacking so violently he had to brace himself to keep from collapsing. _This is_….he thought, tears prickling his eyes, _this is_….  
Sakura remained slate-faced. "Game over, nii-san." She hissed, looming over the agonized man, "I've won."  
The coughing changed to gagging—a kind of horrid retching sound—and his heavy breathing quickened to choppy, half-wheezing: trying and failing to refill his lungs with air.  
_I….I can't breathe_...  
That's when it happened.  
The 'thing' clogging his windpipes pushed its way up into his mouth; he could feel its scaly texture on the base of his tongue. Gagging again, his arms gave out, knocking his upper torso to the ground. Blood pooled from his mouth—his jaw expansion pushed to the limit as the thing wormed its way to freedom. At some point, he heard something crack, but the pain corrupting his body overpowered its importance.  
_I….I'm going to die_….  
His last thoughts, surprisingly, _weren't_ of death. Nor were they of his family—his father and little sisters—or even Shizune.  
Indeed, the last thoughts to pass through Kabuto's mind before the summoning snake ripped him apart were of _Sakura_. The sole individual whose tragic past equaled if not out matched his own. All her life, she'd suffered one heart-wrenching abandonment after another: first her mother, then her father, then the Uchiha boy….and finally, Kabuto _himself_….  
….She'd forgotten what it meant to trust. To care. To _love_. With each broken relationship, a piece of the girl's soul died away, until it left nothing but a cold, hardened, shell of the kunoichi she'd once been. The world ceased to concern itself with her, she reasoned, so why should she show mercy back?  
_But you're wrong, Sakura_….he thought weakly, each pound of his slowly heart counting away his life…._I still care. I always will….  
….and I'm sorry I left you alone_.

He'd awoken the entirety of the main branch. Not that it could be helped, of course. One generally makes noise when their body—for lack of a better word—explodes.  
At least he hadn't screamed. That would have made things very difficult. Not that he really _could_ scream, what with a giant serpent clogging his throat. Still, he hadn't gone nice and quietly either, but again, that couldn't be helped. She'd surprised him—scared him, even, which was something she'd never thought she'd be able to do. Most importantly, she _won_ against him. The first and only time she'd ever done so.  
Still, she had held her doubts: things were going so well something bad was almost entitled to happen. Correction: bad for _her_, not him. She made _sure_ something bad happened to him. Oh yes….  
A bit absentmindedly, she wiped the blood off her face. It wasn't hers of course….she hadn't suffered any wounds of her own….well, unless one counted the biting of her thumb, but she didn't. That wasn't a wound. It was a trigger. A trigger to a mildly-common jutsu she'd managed to twist into her own deadly fashion.  
Her father would be proud, she knew: both of her odd summoning methods and her use of chakra-cloaking.  
Only the former jutsu was her own—she'd stumble upon the chakra-cloaking while rummaging through her father's forbidden scrolls. She cringed remembering how long she'd had to train to perfect it—working herself well past the point of exhaustion—but she couldn't be more satisfied with the result.  
She stopped then, gazing back over her shoulder with a sort of finality.  
The village possessed a peaceful tranquility around this time of night, but she knew somewhere, in its heart, a family was mourning the loss of their loved one.  
Just as _she_ had, some two years ago.  
That night, Kabuto Yakushi, the man she'd regarded as an older brother and whom Konoha considered a traitor, had died.  
Tonight, Kabuto Hyuuga, the man two others looked to as a brother, and heir to Konoha's finest clan, had died as well.

Her revenge was complete.

A twisted smile playing on her lips, Sakura bid her final goodbyes to the old village, and disappeared into the shadows.

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**Like I said….AU. This isn't actually what happens after "Double Deception." ANOTHER one-shot (that I haven't written yet) DOES. One that, in my opinion, is far more epic! So stay tuned!**


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